He has a pension for making money

Suit accuses former pension officials of fraud

California's attorney general is suing two former officials from Calpers, the nation's largest public pension fund, alleging that they took kickbacks in exchange for a piece of the fund's lucrative investment portfolio.

Jerry Brown, the state attorney general, charges that former chief executive Federico Buenrostro Jr. accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and promises of a future employment from Alfred Villalobos, a former Calpers board member who is now a placement agent.

Brown's office secured a court order to freeze the assets of Villalobos's firm and to recover more than $40 million in commissions.

Brown also said the court will take control of Villalobos's 20 bank accounts and all of his assets, including two Bentleys, art worth more than $2.7 million and 14 properties.

CalPERS may see more lawsuits

A state lawsuit targeting two top former officials of the California Public Employees' Retirement System could be the first in a series of state and federal actions focused on the nation's largest public pension fund.

"Villalobos spent tens of thousands of dollars to lavishly entertain key senior exectives at CalPERS, who then influenced the board to authorize investments that generated over $40 million in commissions to Villalobos," Brown said. "None of these actions were disclosed as required by law, as state pension holders and taxpayers have every right to expect."

Brown said that information from his office's investigation or independent investigations could result in more lawsuits or criminal indictments from a local district attorney, the Fair Political Practices Commission or other law enforcement agencies.